Synopsis

Reporter Reiko hears that her niece Tomoko is dead while investigating a rumor that circulates around high schools about a video tape that brings death to whoever watches it seven days later. After finding out that Tomoko and her three other friends, who died on the same date, had watched the tape together, she tracks it down to a cabin where the girls had gone, and watches it herself. As soon as the video is over, the phone rings and a picture showing her own distorted face appears. Sensing that death is near, she seeks help from her ex-husband Ryuji, who watches the tape and gets intrigued. Eventually they learn that Sadako, a kid who had died 40 years ago in a well, is behind this curse and try to retrieve her body to console her. < Ring> was an international phenomenon along with its original novel by Suzuki Koji. Composer Kawai Kenji’s music is minimally used yet creates a sense of extreme horror for the audience. The grand-prize winner of 1999 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.

감독

나카타 히데오

1980년 동경대 졸업 후 시노다 마사히로 감독의 연출부 견습생으로 일하며 영화계에 입문한다. 1985년 닛카츠영화사에 입사, 7년간 조감독으로 활약하였다. 1992년 아사히 TV 시리즈 <기묘한 이야기>를 연출하며 공포영화 장르 연출을 시작, 이후 1998년 <링>으로 일본관객 150만 명을, 1999년 <링2>으로 관객 350만 명을 동원하는 빅히트를 기록하며 공포영화의 새로운 장을 열어갔다.